This Blog-post is a response of thinking activity as a Bridge Course, on T.S. Eliot's Tradition and Individual Talent given by Prof.Dr.Dilip Barad Sir. To know about more this task,CLICK HERE.
"Tradition and the Individual Talent" an essay written by twentieth century poet, and very prominent essayist of modern century T.S.Eliot. This essay essay was first published in 'The Egoist (1919)' was a London literary magazine and later it appeared in Eliot's first book of criticism, "The Sacred Wood" (1920).It was also published in Eliot's "Selected Prose" and "Selected Essays". To know about more, Click this quoted photo of T.S.Eliot and visit the website.
An Essay decorated in three parts,
- The Concept of 'Tradition':
Here are some different definition of Tradition which make us think in more different ways.
According to Merriam Webster Dictionary, Tradition is an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior (such as a religious practice or a social custom).
According to Cambridge Dictionary, Tradition is a belief, principle, or way of acting that people in a particular society or group have continued to follow for a long time, or all of these beliefs, etc. in a particular society or group.
According to Oxford learners Dictionary, Tradition is a belief, custom or way of doing something that has existed for a long time among a particular group of people; a set of these beliefs or customs.
Que: 1. How would you like to explain Eliot's concept of Tradition? Do you agree with it?
The readers of this essay, might be suppose that tradition word used in negative connotation that it must followed by us because their superiority but Eliot's concept appear with another positive aspect, which is that particular culture is necessarily given by them and we just try to understand and picked the main idea not entirely concepts.Eliot makes clear about the use or the word 'Tradition' that he uses it as an adjective to explain the concept or the relation between a poem or work to the work of dead poets or artist. Eliot explained that one artist, who explore his work is not totally his, somewhere he inspired from his ancient thoughts or process of particular work. Eliot quoted that,
“No poet, no artist of any art, has his complete meaning alone. His significance, his appreciation is the appreciation of his relation to the dead poets and artists."
Further he mentioned that we must see the particular artist in contrast and comparison of dead artist which means the predecessors. Contrast and Comparison in the sense of, we can observe how the modern artist developed the process of his predecessor in the term of contemporary way. He quoted in continue that,
"You cannot value him alone; you must see him, for contrast and comparison, among the dead. I mean this as a principle of aesthetic, not merely historical criticism...What happens when a new work of art is created is something that happens simultaneously to all the works of art which preceded it."
I agree with the Idea of tradition by T.S. Eliot. He explained very smoothly that tradition helps us to why we write the literature rather than what we write. Because the modern thinkers are come with their new way of looking the literature or they might be try to explain in different way. There is the ancient thinkers or writers helps them to picked up the particular Idea.
- Historical Sense:
Que:2. What do you understand by Historical Sense? (Use these quotes to explain your understanding)
"The historical sense involves a perception, not only of the pastness of the past, but of its presence; the historical sense compels a man to write not merely with his own generation in his bones."
Eliot describes that the work is not only baised on past or it presents the past only, but the mingling of past and the present.
"This historical sense, which is a sense of the timeless as well as of the temporal and of the timeless and of the temporal together, is what makes a writer traditional."
Eliot described by his quote about two main words that timeless and temporal. Which were readjust of the particular event or idea to explore in modern time.
- Theory of Impersonal Poetry:
“Honest Criticism and sensitive appreciation are directed not upon the poet but upon the poetry”
Eliot starts his second part of the essay with this argument. Here author's interpreted in criticism upon the poetry.
Que.3: Explain: "Some can absorb knowledge, the more tardy must sweat for it. Shakespeare acquired more essential history from Plutarch than most men could from the whole British Museum".
Here, Eliot mentioned that about the systematic writing in literature. Absorb knowledge which means perhaps, if we looked up to Shakespeare's biography that here is nothing we find about his education. He never gained degree or visit the University. Although he wrote incredible works. But he not wrote with the references of Plutarch (Greek Middle Platonist or philosopher.)
This Video is about 'Tradition and the Individual Talent' and 'The Great Tradition' by chronologically T. S. Eliot nd F. R. Leavis.
Words: 866
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